Unexpected
by clatobelles
Summary: She gave up. Now it's too late.


**Hey guys! **

**Draco's line at the near end, I actually saw that on Facebook. It touched my heart and inspired me to write this story. Haha. Hope this turned out good. Also, some parts may be OOC and AU. I did that so as for the characters to actually fit in the plot I had in mind. :) (as of 01/17/14) I reread this one yesterday and thought that it was somehow poorly written, as well as there are some loopholes (like how Draco and Hermione actually got together during the war) so, I decided to edit this. :)**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

* * *

"Good morning Crookshanks!" Hermione greeted her pet cat. "Beautiful day isn't it?" she said, stretching her arms and slowly getting out of her bed. "Ginny and Harry are coming to visit. After nine years they will finally come to visit. Could you believe that?" she exclaimed and walked over to the floor length mirror adjacent to her bed. "I also think that they have a son. Or was it _sons_? Do you remember them, Crookshanks?" The cat replied by simply yawning. Hermione rolled her eyes at her cat's unperturbed reaction. Hermione tied her hair up in a messy bun and made her way to the kitchen.

She missed Ginny and Harry. Seven years of not seeing them killed her, but that was fine. It was her decisions after all. Hermione realized after the war that her life would be more silent, more comfortable in the Muggle world. Even the the Dark Lord was already gone, she knew the Wizarding World would never be the same again. Everyone will be on high alert for any dangers, and they would forever be living in fear. So after the war, Hermione went out of the Wizarding World to look for her parents who were in Australia and remodified their memories, having performed a false memory charm on them so as to put them to safety during the war.

Another reason as to why Hermione left the Wizarding World, perhaps for good, was because of heartbreak. She thought it cliched whenever she would think about it, but yes. Hermione Granger left because of a heartbreak. A heartbreak that was caused by her. And it was with non other than Draco Malfoy.

It wasn't touchy-feely at first, though. Far from that. Their romance blossomed while the war was raging on, so there were hardly any time for them properly talk about what was happening between the two of them. After Draco became a member of the Order and consecutively a spy for them like his Godfather, Severus, he and Hermione grew inconsiderably close. Considering the changed ways Draco lived during the war, his views on muggle-borns changed as well, resulting to him having a decent attitude towards them. He and Hermione started to become civil towards each other, which led to something more by the time the war was raging full on.

Hermione knew that she and Draco coming clean to the whole world at that time was dangerous. Dangerous not only for them, but also for everyone they loved. With Voldemort reeking havoc around and inflicting damage to those wizards and witches who got in his way, they both could not manage to risk the life of everyone they loved. So they kept it a secret, until the war finished. When they told Harry and Ron, they were livid. They didn't support their relationship, not until the second year, when it was evident where their love would eventually lead to. But all of that changed when Draco started his Auror training and was sent away for three years in another country.

* * *

_Draco,_

_Hi. How have you been? I haven't heard from you in ages. I hope you're doing well in your Auror training. Well, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to tell you. I missed you. I still do. But you know that a lot could change in two years. I want to be straight forward with you, so here it goes._

_I've fallen in love with someone else, Draco. I don't know how and why, but I just did. I hope you understand me. His name is Anthony Goldstein. You might remember him. He was one of the people involved in the Order. We met while I was doing a signing event on one of my recently published book. You do know that I was publishing a book, right? Anyway, he's a very good man, Draco. Much as good as you are. I hope that you would be happy for both of us._

_I'm sorry, Draco. For giving up with on the two of us. But please do know that I love you, and that I cherish those blissful moments that I got to spend with you._

_Yours forever,_

_Hermione_

* * *

Hermione kept a copy of the letter she sent Draco that day. It is placed in a small, tattered box under her bed that contained every little thing she and Draco exchanged over the course of their relationship, including letters. The last letter she gave him had no reply. Why would it have, anyway? If he did love her, then she expect he would be too shattered to even write a reply.

Hermione and Anthony's relationship lasted for two and a half years. At first they thought that they could handle a single rumour, but not when said nasty rumours continued tirelessly which eventually took a toll on their relationship . They decided to part ways. They arere in contact with each other, though. Still friends.

Hermione was startled by a loud pop in her living room. She went out from the kitchen to see who it was and sure enough, it was Ginny and Harry. They were both fixing themselves. They still looked the same, but the wrinkles on their eyes and worry lines along their forehead showed that they aged quite a bit.

"Ginny! Harry!" Hermione greeted them. She went to hug Ginny first, then Harry.

"Oh, Hermione. I missed you so, so much! I never heard from you since you decided to leave the Wizarding world!" Harry hugged her so tight that she had to beg for air.

Hermione laughed and helped them with their cloaks. "I know. I just thought that forgetting all about it would make it easier for me to, you know. Move on." She smiled at them when she saw their sympathetic looks. "And it did, might I tell you," she added.

"So what's new with you, Hermione?" Ginny asked her. They all sat down in her sofa. Harry picked up a Muggle magazine and flipped through the pages while Ginny looked at her with curious eyes.

"Nothing much. I'm just working on a new novel." Hermione smiled at her, knowing that this wasn't the news Ginny wanted to hear. She was not ready to talk about that yet, and she didn't think she would ever. "And I thought I'd let you know that Anthony and I dated."

Ginny grinned. Harry looked up from the magazine and closed it. "Anthony? You mean, Anthony Goldstein? The Ravenclaw dude who joined us in the Order?" He asked, adjusting his spectacles.

"Yes. We met while I was doing a book signing event on one of my early books. Apparently, he is a big Muggle fan. He stumbled across my name and remembered me, so he decided to read my book and attend that book signing event." Hermione smiled and them.

"You said 'dated'. You mean you guys aren't together anymore? Why?" Ginny asked. "And when did this relationship happen?"

"Well, yes. It happened about two years ago," Hermione started. "You know how stupid rumours spread like wildfire around Wizarding world even though we've both settled into the Muggle world, Gin. We couldn't handle it," she smiled, "_Seems like I give up on relationships so easily, huh?"_ she silently added. Hermionenoticed that there was something different about Ginny, something was somehow not right.

"Ginny, are you alright? You look a little sick." Hermione asked her and noticed the look exchanged between her and Harry.

"Told you she'd notice." Harry mumbled to Ginny.

"Notice what? Is something going on?" Hermione looked back and forth between them, trying to depict for her what's wrong.

"I'm, uh, fifteen weeks pregnant." Ginny smiled. Hermione's eyes widened at the news.

"Really?" She said, practically jumping out of her feet. "Wait. Hold on. It's been nine years since we last saw each other, right?" Harry and Ginny nodded. "How many children do you have already?"

"Five." Harry replied. Ginny smacked his shoulders when they saw Hermione's expression.

"He's kidding. We now have two sons. They're James and Albus, seven and four years old respectively." Hermione nodded in relief. And then she realized something.

"Hey. Isn't your dad's name James, Harry? And you named your second son after Professor Dumbledore?" Harry smiled at her intelligence.

"Yes, Hermione. James's full name is James Sirius, and Albus's full name is Albus Severus." Hermione smiled.

"Hmm. Good choice. I'm happy you didn't give Ginny the privilege of naming your children. I mean, she did name Ron's owl, remember? What was the owl's name again?" She smirked playfully.

"Pigwidgeon. And that wasn't a bad name." Ginny defended herself.

"Right," Hermione said slowly. "I'm sure Pig was bursting with happiness when you named him that." she said, receiving a deathly glare from the woman opposite her.

"Hermione, are you cooking something?" Harry asked her after a few moments of silence.

Hermione sniffed the air. "Oh, right!" she exclaimed. "The stew! I got to check that. Make yourselves comfortable."

* * *

Their lunch went by quickly, and soon it was time for Ginny and Harry to leave. They both got up to their feet, thanked Hermione for having them at her flat, promised her to visit again soon and that they will make her godmother of their soon-to-be-born child.

Hermione washed up the empty plates and went up her room to continue working on her new novel, which was about her and Draco. Their moments are still in her mind. Every detail of it. Even how she felt when he first kissed her at the Room of Requirement when they were healing each other's wounds from the war. She remembered what it was like to dance with him under the rain, or the calming effect his hands on her cheeks gave her.

She had written all those, and the story was almost near to end, but Hermione didn't know how to finish her own story. Her own love story. Was she going to end it drastically? Or are the characters going to end up in the end, just like how she thought she and Draco would be?

She was still pondering on this, when a loud pop came from her living room once again.

"Ginny? Harry? Even though you said you'd be back soon, but I didn't think it would be _this_ soon." Hermione jokingly said as she descended the stairs. She stopped in her tracks when she saw that her visitor was neither Ginny nor Harry.

It was Draco.

"Uh," Hermione uttered, silently cursing herself for being loss at words.

A smile formed Draco's lips. "Hi, Hermione." He said after a few moments of silence.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" Hermione couldn't help herself. All her memories of him are coming back. All the memories of them together.

"Don't worry. This won't take long. I'm just here to deliver an invitation." His smile lingered for a few moments until it faded when he said, 'invitation'.

"How did you know my address?" Hermione asked, still quite in shock that he was here. He was physically here.

"Malfoys have their ways, Hermione." he haughtily replied making her scoff and smile.

"Of course they do," she said, rolling her eyes. As soon as all the shock was out of her system, Hermione noticed the silver parchment that was in his hands. "Why did you say you where here again?" she asked.

"To give you an invitation," he replied, the playfulness in his voice now gone.

"For what?"

"For a wedding." He answered almost inaudibly.

"Oh." Draco handed him the said wedding invitation which was made of fragranced paper. The invitation was magically designed, so that it would only open to the person intended for. It has green and silver swirls around it. Very Slytherin-esque.

"Whose wedding is it going to be?" Hermione said, still examining the invitation.

"My wedding." He said, barely a whisper.

She waited for him to laugh and take back what he said. She waited for him to tell her how much he'd missed her and how he still loves her. She waited for him to hug her. But nothing like that happened. Right then, Hermione knew that Draco was being serious.

And then, without her permission, a tear rolled down her cheek. She just stared at him. Draco reached out and wiped the tear that without her permission, slipped. Hermione looked at him through lashes filled with unshed tears. She didn't expect this. Somehow, in the back of her mind, Hermione thought that she and Draco would get back together.

"This was supposed to be us, remember? But you gave up." Draco smiled at her briefly. "I hope you'll be able to come. I already sent the Potters and the Weasleys their own invitations." He then took a few steps backwards.

"Bye, Hermione." He said, and then, with a loud pop, he was gone.

The invitation in Hermione's hands suddenly felt like a ton of bricks. She didn't feel it drop to the floor and instead let herself fall down her sofa.

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**A/N**: Sooo! How was it? A little sad, yes? Let's just say that I got tired of those happily ever after stories that I decided to write a tragic one. Now y'all probably know how Hermione will end her novel, eh?

Review please! Just click that blue link down this A/N. Let me know what you thought of this!


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